


Helpful Nudge

by Lozza342



Series: Kindaichi/Seijoh Oneshots (mostly) [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Homework, M/M, One Shot, Studying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 06:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18806050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lozza342/pseuds/Lozza342
Summary: Kindaichi is down a study partner and Watari offers to help.





	Helpful Nudge

**Author's Note:**

> Again, a dip in quality... and in word count, but this was the first one I wrote and it was ages ago... My apologies, be kind!

Kindaichi had always been a bit dull when it came to these things. He was faffing over the fact that Kunimi had a date, meaning their usual homework session together was cancelled so he needed someone to help. 

Yahaba had offered at first, but was aggressively reminded that he already made plans with a certain blonde wing spiker. Kindaichi then had been buzzing, ecstatic over being able to study with his senpai but when he found out, all his hopes and dreams looked as if they had been shot down in that instant. Watari interjected at that point, agreeing to help out the middle blocker if he just got changed already. Really, Watari was sure he could do absolutely fine on his own. It crossed his mind that Kindaichi was too insecure, but he couldn't take the insistent flailing of the first-year.

This is how he found himself sat next to a very stressed and flustered Kindaichi in said boy's living room, surrounded by a bunch of maths and chemistry books along with sheets of paper that were various degrees of scrunched up.

“We should take a break, we've been going for almost an hour and a half.”

Kindaichi groaned, running a hand through his messy hair. “Just one more.”

The first-year adjusted the pencil in his grip and tried the next question. Watari wasn't very good at teaching, but it seemed like it was enough to just be there. If Kindaichi went through it as if he was teaching him what to do, he usually managed to find his mistakes. The least Watari could do was make sure he was on the right track.

-

“Maaan, you're so much quieter than Kunimi.” Kindaichi said when he came back into the room with drinks for them. He sat back down and stretched out to lie on the tatami.

Watari thanked Kindaichi as he passed him his before giving him a look. “What do you mean?”

“Well, Kunimi keeps having a go at me every five minutes. He always sleeps in class but he gets top grades. It's effortless for him so he gets annoyed that I can't understand it like he does.” Kindaichi's face started to screw into a scowl and Watari found himself smiling.

“You seem to understand it just fine to me.” It wasn't a lie.

“Yeah, I kinda do but… I can't focus and I make dumb mistakes. Oh and I suck at tests. Like the one we have tomorrow.” Kindaichi's frown deepened.

Watari 'hmm'ed and took a few sips of water. “Go through each question as if you were teaching a child.” He could tell instantly that Kindaichi didn't understand what he meant, if the furrowed brows were anything to go by. “No, I didn't mean-! I meant you look like you do better when you break things down that extra step.”

“I don't have that kind of time in a test!”

“It might feel like it, but isn't thinking about it a lot better than just saying 'I can't do it’ and then skipping because you're afraid you'll run out of time?” Watari only managed himself to figure that out himself last year. “By all means do the ones you know you can do first, but it's so like you to throw away points because you've convinced yourself you can't do it.”

Kindaichi tilted his head. “This isn't just about chemistry, is it?”

Watari wanted to grab his face and tell him what a dumb idiot he was, but he figured that wouldn't help matters. “You do it all the time. Waste time because of how insecure you are. Look at Iwaizumi-san. He doesn't think like that, does he? He's super confident and I bet he aces all his tests. Try and think more like that, because you don't have time for self-pity.”

Was it really that obvious? “Kunimi's never said anything to me before…”

“I'm sure he means well. Kunimi is… Kunimi.” Watari rolled his eyes. There was nothing particularly wrong with the guy, but he wasn't exactly the nicest person and Kindaichi stuck to him like a leech so for Kunimi to keep shouting at him like he was some kind of idiot didn’t help matters. Kindaichi was smart but because he didn't think so, it was all for nothing. “You want to have a rest?”

“Ah, well… You've been here a while and it's getting late so… You can go if you want. I got a lot more done than if I was with Kunimi, that's for sure!”

Watari laughed. He could only imagine. Kindaichi wasn't exactly quiet but when Kunimi was around, he brought out his louder and brasher side. He wondered what kind of conversations the two had, being so close together. There was one friend in his class he went to middle school with but they only knew each others’ faces back then, it's not like they had been good friends beforehand, not like Kindaichi and Kunimi.

“I don't mind staying for a while longer.” After all, he rarely studied with Yahaba and Kyoutani - for obvious reasons - so most of the time he was on his own. Besides, he desperately missed how easy all the content seemed back in first year.

“Think like Iwaizumi-san, huh? Is that what you do?” Kindaichi mused from his spot on the floor, stretching his legs under the kotatsu.

“I like to think so!” Watari said enthusiastically. The one thing he knew he had in common with the middle blocker - their love for the ace.

Kindaichi laughed. “Easier said than done, I think. That confidence isn't unfounded.”

“Right? It probably comes easy to him, but if you try, you could probably be like that one day.” Again, that wasn't a lie.

“Really?!” Kindaichi sat up, leant back on his hands. “You think so?” The first-year looked at him wide-eyed and blushing.

Watari grinned. “Of course. You're a good player, a great player.”

Kindaichi was easy to cheer up. He was used to hanging around Kunimi, after all. A few words from his senpai and he was back on his feet and playing better than before.

“I don't think this applies to chemistry, though.” Kindaichi joked, looking at the last scraps of paper he used trying to answer the last question.

“Maybe not, huh?” Watari agreed. Kindaichi pouted, but sat back up and leaned over the kotatsu. “You really should memorise the equations. You keep missing stuff out. If it's written in the question, you're likely going to need to use it. Oh, and you won't get the mark for the answer if you write it to a million decimal places.”

“Seriously?! Why doesn’t Kunimi tell me this stuff?” Kindaichi frowned. Watari was sure Kunimi was just being lazy. “Thanks, Watari-san!” His smile was big and genuine and Watari felt honoured. This was the same look Kindaichi gave Oikawa and Iwaizumi and Watari felt glad it was directed at him for once.

“No problem!” Watari grinned back, noting to himself to make Kindaichi smile more often.

**Author's Note:**

> So, an aside, I just got the latest stageplay on DVD yesterday. Today I watched the entire thing, plus the curtain call and backstage and man... It was really emotional.
> 
> I thought it was very fitting to post this now, since Watari's actor and Kindaichi's actor both broke down in tears during their curtain call speeches. (For Matsukawa's actor to say 'gambare!' to help them along/be annoying ;P)
> 
> Anyways, I love these guys and if you haven't checked out the stageplays... you should, they are amazing. They've come so far, and have already surpassed the events of the anime, too!


End file.
